''Compsomyiops callipes'', previously known as ''Paraluclia wheeleri'', is a member of the blowfly family Calliphoridae. It is a warm weather fly that can be found in southwestern parts of the United StatesWhitworth, Terry (July 2006). "Keys to the Genera and Species of blow Flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) of America North of Mexico and parts of South America.Forensic Sci Int. 2008 Jan 15;174(1):68-70. Epub 2007 Mar 26. This species can be identified by its chaeotaxy, metallic blue color, club-shaped palp, and brown calypters. ''Compsomyiops callipes'' serves an important role in the field of medicocriminal entomology, a subfield of forensic entomology, by determining post mortem intervals (PMI). This species is attracted to carrion and has been involved in case studies in California where it has been the primary fly found on human remains.The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 84(1):29-32, (2008)

Taxonomy

''Compsomyiops callipes'' was first described in 1877. It was later described as ''Paralucilia wheeleri'' but it was not recognized that this was only a new name for a species that had already been named. In 1985, J. P. Dear revised the New World tribe Chrysomyini, which resulted in ''Paralucilia wheeleri'' being synonymized under ''Compsomyiops callipes'' Bigot. It is a member of the family Calliphoridae, commonly called blowflies, and the subfamily Chrysomyinae.

Description

''Compsomyiops callipes'' is a member of the order

Diptera Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

meaning two wings. Diptera are characterized by having two forewings and halteres. Since it is a member of the family Calliphoridae, it has bristles on the

meron Meron may refer to: People * Meron (surname), including a list of people with the name * Meron Abraham (born 1995), an Eritrean cyclist * Meron Amanuel (born 1990), an Eritrean cyclist * Meron Benvenisti (born 1934), an Israeli political scienti ...

, its antennae have plumose arista, and it has two to three notopleural bristles. The subfamily Chrysomyinae is characterized by a setose stem vein on the wings. ''Compsomyiops callipes'' is a relatively large

fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

with a length of about 6–12 mm. Its abdomen and thorax are a metallic blue color. It has a bright yellow gena and four longitudinal lines on its pronotum. The setae on the posterior margin of the hind coxa are long and dark. Its palp, which is an appendage near its mouth used for sensation, movement and feeding, is clavate meaning club-shaped. Its anterior

spiracle Spiracle or spiraculum may refer to: * Spiracle (arthropods), opening in the exoskeletons of some arthropods * Spiracle (vertebrates), openings on the surface of some vertebrates * Spiraculum, a genus of land snails in family Cyclophoridae Cycl ...

and calypters are brown. ''Compsomyiops callipes'' is very similar in appearance to flies belonging to the genus

Cochliomyia ''Cochliomyia'' is a genus in the family Calliphoridae, known as blowflies, in the order Diptera. ''Cochliomyia'' is commonly referred to as the New World screwworm flies, as distinct from Old World screwworm flies. Four species are in this genu ...

but can be distinguished by its palp, calypters, and chaeotaxy, which is the study of the arrangement of setae. Image:Fly2arrow.gif, Plumose arista. Image:Fly3arrow.gif, Longitudinal lines on the pronotum. Image:Flyarrow.gif, Bright yellow gena.

Locale

''Compsomyiops callipes'' is generally found where there are warm temperatures. It is prevalent in the southwestern United States, in states such as Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California. However this species has been reported all throughout the world in warmer climates. This species can also be found in Mexico,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and Venezuela in montane savanna and cloud forest habitats. ''Compsomyiops callipes'' is more abundant in rural and riparian areas as opposed to urban settings.

Feeding

''Compsomyiops callipes'' is attracted to carrion. In accordance with other blow-flies, it can smell carrion from up to 10 miles away. Flowers like the American pawpaw and

Dead Horse Arum ''Helicodiceros muscivorus'', the dead horse arum lily, is an ornamental plant native to Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearic Islands. It is the only species in the genus ''Helicodiceros''. Within the family Araceae the plant is part of the subfa ...

produce these smells of death to attract the flies thereby spreading their pollen. Nectar from these flowers can be used to generate energy for flight. ''Compsomyiops callipes'' were found on rat carrion in a Venezuelan study. Larvae from ''Compsomyiops callipes'' are commonly found on dead bodies providing time of death estimations.

Life cycle

Egg to larvae

The life cycle of ''Compsomyiops callipes'' consists of the larval, pupa, and adult stages. The first stage, or larval stage, starts when the larvae hatch from the egg. This stage is broken up even further into instars. The first instar is about 2.5-3.9 mm in length. The larvae have a segmented body. On segments two to nine, they have light brown complete spinose bands. There are three small tubercles above and three below the posterior cavity. The posterior spiracles have two slits; however, they are not surrounded by the peritreme. The spiracular openings of the respiratory system are restricted to a pair each (Amphipneustic). The second instar is 4–9.5 mm in length. At this stage, the larvae have developed spines with 1-3 points the form a V-shape on the anal protuberance. The spiracles are now surrounded by an incomplete peritreme. The third instar is 8.5–17 mm in length. The posterior spiracles are now large and have a broad peritreme. They have also developed many more tubercles. Third instar larvae also possess an accessory oral sclerite. It is important to note that none of this development will happen or continue if the temperature is not at a constant low.

Pupa to adult

Once the larval stage of development is complete, the pupa stage begins. The prepupa stage can last 3–7 days as the larvae prepare to pupate, and has a mean air temperature of .Then, when the larvae actually pupate, it enters the stage known as puparuim. This is the final stage before adulthood, which lasts from 8–14 days, and in this time the pupa is stationary and does nothing except develop into an adult fly. The mean air temperature in this stage is . Finally, the last stage is the adult fly. After it is fully developed, it emerges from the pupa and sets out to feed and then procreate; starting the life cycle over again.David G. Hall. Blowflies of North America. Typography, presswork, and binding by Monumental Printing Company. Baltimore, Maryland. 1948

Importance

''Compsomyiops Callipes'' has recently been studied in the sub-field of forensic entomology, medicocriminal entomology. Medicocriminal entomology is the use of

arthropods Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

in courts of law dealing with violent crime. Arthropods are commonly used to determine the post mortem interval (PMI), and the location of the crime, depending on which species are found. The post mortem interval is important because it greatly helps investigators solve crime cases.

Arthropods Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

are useful when determining this, because their life cycles allow the entomologist to determine their age and how long they have been present based on their succession pattern. ''Compsomyiops Callipes'' has commonly been associated with

carrion Carrion () is the decaying flesh of dead animals, including human flesh. Overview Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures, c ...

for over fifty years. Just recently (in the past couple years) it has been associated with human remains in California. In 2004, two separate case studies were done examining two different

corpses A cadaver or corpse is a dead human body that is used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue to repair a defect in a living human being. Stu ...

that were found off of the road in rural dry grass areas. The arthropods found on the two corpses were examined to calculate the PMI. In this process, it was found that ''Compsomyips Callipes'' was the primary adult fly and larvae found on the corpses. And further cases showed that it was the most common fly found on at least three other bodies in the Santa Clara County of California. This discovery is significant because it shows the importance of regional classification of forensically important insects.

Current research

''Compsomyiops callipes'' is currently being used in DNA based identification techniques; the most reliable being phylogenic analysis. There has been some difficulty identifying species anatomically because many are closely related. This makes a big difference when estimating PMI because, even though the species may be anatomically similar, it may grow at a very different rate. A flawed analysis may mean a difference of weeks in the PMI, and this can significantly hurt a case study. ''Compsomyiops callipes'' is one of the few species that has had its

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...

sequence determined. This information is currently being put in a reference sequence database that would make it easily accessible for forensic entomologists around the world.International Journal for Parasitology 32(2002) 1345-1360